Chapter 5: Li Ran’s Mission (Part 2)

Kumu said calmly, “Shier… is more capable than most adults. I saw him establish his family—his calm and composed leadership… I really can’t figure out where he learned that. I even feel that I’m not as capable as him; his actions are flawless and well-organized…”
Zhu Juan rolled her eyes and said, “No matter how mature Shier may be, he’s still a child—that won’t change!”
Kumu nodded. “I’m not denying that.”
Zhu Juan finally breathed a sigh of relief and said, “Worrying won’t help. The kid has his own path to follow… Alright, I’ve already set the coordinates. Do you want to go back with me or explore here?”
Kumu replied, “A place this interesting definitely deserves a visit. I want to see if I can discover anything. If I can find an entrance to the Advanced Continent, that would be a huge gain…”
Zhu Juan said, “The entrances to the Advanced Continent are guarded by experts. It’s better not to take risks unless you have something suitable to exchange.”
Kumu said, “Don’t worry. I’m just looking for an entrance, not planning to enter the Advanced Spell Continent.”
Zhu Juan smiled and said, “Actually, it wouldn’t be a big problem for you to enter. After all, you’re a high-ranking Holy Master. No sect on the Advanced Continent would easily refuse your joining.”
Kumu replied, “I don’t plan to join for now, unless I advance to Grand Holy Master.”
Zhu Juan nodded. “Hmm, I thought the same. At least you need to contribute more to your sect before you can leave without guilt.”
As an older-generation expert, they usually have deep feelings for their sect. Even after leaving to join a sect on the Advanced Continent, they would still try their best to help their original sect—just like what Guo Shier is doing now.
…
Guo Shier and Eagle Demon stepped out of the spell gate, and a strong smell of blood hit them instantly. Before Eagle Demon could even see the surroundings clearly, he immediately drew his spell sword in readiness. Guo Shier was even more sensitive; the moment he smelled the blood, he unleashed his Dark Winged Scorpion. Only then did the two carefully observe their surroundings.
The sky was blood-red, and the ground was barren—not only was the soil dark red, but even the stones were crimson. The intense smell of blood was suffocating. Guo Shier was very familiar with this scent, which carried a hint of rust. In his past life, he often smelled it on the battlefield, but it was even stronger here.
Eagle Demon asked in confusion, “Is this the address that senior gave you? This place looks more like a slaughterhouse!”

Guo Shier was equally puzzled. He flew onto the back of the Dark-Winged Scorpion and said, “I don’t know what place this is either. It looks desolate. There shouldn’t be anyone around, so why is there such a strong smell of blood?”
Then he exclaimed in surprise, “Hey, the talisman has failed…”
Eagle Demon frowned slightly and said, “There’s something strange about this place!”
Guo Shier noticed that the Dark-Winged Scorpion seemed to really like this place; it appeared very excited. It said, “Uncle Eagle Demon, come on. Let’s ride on the scorpion. This place is too strange—it makes people feel uneasy.”
Eagle Demon agreed, took off, and stood beside Guo Shier. He said, “Yes, I don’t know what place this is. It gives people an extremely uneasy feeling. Let’s be careful!”
The Dark-Winged Scorpion was huge, with enough space on its back for several adults to sit. Guo Shier sat cross-legged on the scorpion’s head, while Eagle Demon stood half a step behind him, holding a talisman sword and staying vigilant. The Dark-Winged Scorpion kept making annoying chirping sounds. Eagle Demon couldn’t help but ask, “What’s the scorpion’s name?”
Guo Shier smiled and said, “It’s nothing. It’s just a little excited.”
Eagle Demon said, “Its noises are really unpleasant!”
Guo Shier chuckled and said, “I don’t think so. I find it quite endearing.” Then he gently patted the scorpion’s large head. The Dark-Winged Scorpion became so excited that its pincers clamped together twice in the air, making a thudding sound, while its tail swayed back and forth in the air. Eagle Demon watched helplessly.
There was a thin layer of mist around them. This mist wasn’t light white but a faint red, looking quite eerie. It restricted Guo Shier’s vision; he couldn’t see the distant scenery at all. Eagle Demon pointed to the left and said, “There seems to be a small hill over there. Let’s go take a look.”
Guo Shier urged the Dark-Winged Scorpion to climb toward the hill.
Everything around was silent, like a dead place, which was chilling. The Dark-Winged Scorpion made very little noise as it moved. Its huge body seemed weightless, with only a soft rustling sound, yet it moved very fast, reaching the top of the hill in just a few minutes.
Although the mist was thin, Guo Shier still couldn’t see far. Eagle Demon said, “At most… we can only see about a hundred meters ahead. Beyond that, we can’t see anything… This place is really strange. Why did that person send you here?”
Guo Shier smiled bitterly and said, “He just said… when I become a great talisman master, I should come here to do something for him.”
Eagle Demon asked, “What is it?”

Guo Shier said, “I don’t know what’s going on either… Sigh, I thought coming here would let me see that senior again, but who would have thought it would be a place like this?”
Eagle Demon said, “It seems… you’ve been tricked!”
Guo Shier shook his head. “That’s impossible. I’m always good at judging people. That senior… isn’t a scoundrel.”
Eagle Demon said, “This damned place… I can’t figure it out. Why were you brought here? He doesn’t show up, and we don’t even know where to go. Do we have to wait here?”
Guo Shier said, “We can’t wait because we don’t understand this place or what it is. The worst part is that we can’t use our talisman techniques… This must be a specific area, like some kind of secret realm. Maybe when the time comes, we’ll be thrown out…”
Gradually, Guo Shier seemed to form an idea. He said, “Maybe this is a test. Well, we need to be prepared for battle. The smell of blood here definitely didn’t appear out of nowhere. We just don’t know what died—was it a human or an animal? We need to find out.”
Eagle Demon was impressed. The kid’s thinking was always clear, and this time was no exception. He said, “I’ll just charge in. You take care of the rest…”
Guo Shier looked at him speechlessly. But he was glad he hadn’t refused Eagle Demon’s company; otherwise, being here alone would have been unbearable.
He said, “Uncle Eagle Demon, you have sharp ears and a keen nose… Which direction do you think we should go?”
Eagle Demon asked in confusion, “Shier, what do you mean by sharp ears and a keen nose? I’m not a puppy… Hmm, there seems to be some noise over there… Listen carefully…” He pointed to the right.
Guo Shier pricked up his ears. After a while, he said, “I don’t hear anything!”
As a great talisman martial artist, Eagle Demon had much sharper hearing, vision, and sense of smell than Guo Shier, so while he could hear it, Guo Shier might not.
Eagle Demon said firmly, “It’s a growling sound, very faint… It seems to be quite far away.”
Guo Shier asked, “Is it a human or an animal?”
Eagle Demon replied, “I don’t know. If I could tell, you could too.”
Guo Shier thought for a moment and said, “Whether it’s a human or an animal, let’s go over there… If it’s a human, we can at least ask around for information.”
Eagle Demon said, “In this damned place, even sounds don’t travel far.”
Guo Shier urged the Dark Winged Scorpion to rush quickly to the right and said, “There’s fog, so sounds don’t travel far. I don’t know when this fog will clear.”

Eagle Demon also sat cross-legged, as standing on the rapidly moving scorpion was extremely uncomfortable. He said, “It’s hard to say… This isn’t mist at all—it’s more like blood mist. It smells terrible, like rust… a fishy odor… with a faint stench.” He really didn’t care about these smells, but they were simply too unsettling.

Guo Shier activated the Golden Armor Amulet in his life talisman sphere, and a faint golden glow emerged. To his surprise, the unpleasant smell diminished significantly.

A series of rapid footsteps could be heard faintly, followed by heavy thuds, each one feeling like it was hitting his heart. Guo Shier quickly turned to look at Eagle Demon, his eyes filled with shock. The Dark-Winged Demon Scorpion suddenly stopped in its tracks. Eagle Demon said in a deep voice, “It’s a huge creature!”

Then, Guo Shier saw a figure running past on the left. Due to the blood mist, only a shadow was visible. The thuds grew louder, and the figure suddenly turned and ran toward where Guo Shier and the others were.

Guo Shier was alarmed and immediately ordered the Dark-Winged Demon Scorpion to turn around and flee. Both he and Eagle Demon knew that the consequence of this person running over was attracting the unknown talisman beast that was chasing him.

The person was no longer running but flying low to the ground, quickly catching up to the Dark-Winged Demon Scorpion. Then the person exclaimed in surprise, “Hey! A mutated talisman worm!”

Eagle Demon became furious and shouted, “Are you deliberately causing trouble?”

The person hurriedly said, “Brother, help me! I can’t hold on much longer. Let me climb on…” His eyes glanced at the scorpion’s tail, realizing he couldn’t withstand being stung by it.

Guo Shier waved his hand and said, “Climb on!”

The person was overjoyed. He flew onto the scorpion’s back, steadied himself, then crouched down, gasping for breath. He spoke intermittently, “Make… make your scorpion run fast! What’s chasing us is… is a Level 4… mutated talisman beast—a One-Horned Blood Rhinoceros! I can’t defeat that guy. If I get hit by its horn… haha… ha… cough… my butt will explode!”

As he spoke, he patted his chest, looking terrified.

Hearing it was a Level 4 mutated talisman beast, Guo Shier was no longer afraid, as he had a talisman that sealed an Level 8 Giant Nest Dragon. Even though the Giant Nest Dragon’s strength had diminished after being sealed, it was more than enough to deal with a Level 4 mutated talisman beast.

Eagle Demon also relaxed a bit. He had witnessed many battles with Guo Shier and wasn’t particularly afraid of a Level 4 mutated talisman beast. He stared intently at the person who had climbed on, ready to act at any moment.

The man finally calmed down and said, “Hehe, I’m sorry. Is there anything to eat? Anything will do… I haven’t eaten in seven or eight days…”
Guo Shier didn’t say much and casually threw him a piece of marinated meat, about the size of a sheep’s head. The man was overjoyed, snatched the meat, and kept saying, “Thank you… Thank you so much… You’re a good person!”
A “good person” card?
Eagle Demon and Guo Shier were very surprised—was a piece of marinated meat worth such gratitude?
The man took out a knife, cut off a small piece of meat, and carefully put the rest into his talisman bag. Eagle Demon and Guo Shier were baffled.
Guo Shier asked, “What place is this?”